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Watch how one man thinks Stonehenge and other wonders of the world were built using only simple machines and very little else.

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Throughout all the early civilizations, including, Lebanon, Peru, Bolivia, and Easter Island, simple machines were used to build magnificent buildings. In Lebanon, temples were built with blocks 64 feet long and 13 feet wide, weighing 1,200 tons apiece, a workforce of 25,000 men was required to raise one stone. The lever, rollers, pulleys, wedges, and the screw were all used early in history.

The industrial revolution was sparked by the invention of the steam engine in Great Britain in the 1700s. The industrial revolution helped bring people into the machine age and vastly increased the availability of many kinds of products.

Machines enable people to do work with LESS muscle effort and with greater speed.

Want to know more about how the great pyramids were built? This video show what scientist believe happened based on archeological evidence.

Whenever an object is caused to move, whether from a standstill or while already in motion, a force is required.

Gravity is a universal force. Gravitational force causes every object to attract every other object; a ball falling to the ground; the moon orbiting the Earth. Every object in the universe exerts a force on every other object; that force is gravity.

Friction is a force that opposes motion. Friction occurs when two substances rub together. Rub your hands together. What did you feel? Why? Heat is a byproduct of friction.

The motion of objects is reduced because of friction. Why do you stop swing on a swing? Why does a ball stops rolling?

Friction can be reduced by smoothing and polishing the surface of contact, by lubricating surfaces with grease or oil, or by using roller instead of sliding.

Sometimes we want to increase frictional forces – When using the brakes on a bike or car, we are increasing friction in order to stop.

If there were no friction, your life would be much different. You wouldn't be able to walk (think about walking on ice) or hold things between your fingers. You wouldn't be able to turn the pages of a book, or keep your shoes tied, or stop your car with the brakes.

What do you call the force of gravity on your mass? WEIGHT!

Two important factors dealing with force are: Mass and Distance, The Earth holds you because it's mass is so large compared to yours, but you do not feel the gravity pull of your neighbor sitting next to you!

Force is measured in Newtons and is part of the equation for Work. W = f x d.

A wedge is a form of an inclined plane which can increase a force. With a wedge, the material (log) remains in place while the wedge moves through it.

A wedge can be one sloping surface like a doorstop. This type is called a single incline plane, When a wedge has two sloping surfaces, it is called a double incline plane. An example of this type is the wedge used to split wood for the fireplace.

Wedges can be forced between two things to hold them tightly together, like nails holding two pieces of wood together or a doorstop jammed between the door and the floor to create enough friction to hold the door open.

When sharpened, the wedge can become a knife or an ax. The tip of a screwdriver (slot head) is a simple wedge.

The screw is an inclined plane wrapped in a spiral around a cylinder post.

A screw has two parts:

A. The body – cylinder post

B. The thread – inclined plane wrapped around the cylinder.

When thinking about a screw think about anything that has threads.

If you look closely at the screw, you'll see that the threads form a tiny “RAMP” that runs around the screw from the tip to near the top.

The pitch of a screw is the distance between two consecutive threads.

One function of the screw is to fasten things – the standard screw or nuts & bolts.

Drill bits are a screw used to make holes.

Airplane propellers, helicopter blades, and fan blades are screws that screw through the air.

Propellers on boats screw through the water.

Most every machine built requires the use of some form of screw to fasten it together.

Imagine you are driving a screw into a board. As you turn the screw, the threads seem to “PULL” the Screw into the wood. The wood seems to “SLIDE” up the inclined plane. Actually, the plane slides through the wood.

Answer the following questions and activities in any manner you wish. You may want to use a computer, pen and paper, or record your own voice. Any method is fine.

Remember you can use this digital book or your textbook for help.

Work Input and Work Output

Using any simple machine takes extra work. Yet, the machine can make the work easier to do. Read "the Effects of Friction" on page 284 of the textbook to expand on this idea.

Simple machines do not decrease the amount of work. In fact, you actually end up doing more work with a machine.

1List three reasons why people still choose to use machines.

2All machines need energy to operate.

What is the energy source for the simple machines used so far?

Suggest three additional energy sources that could be used to do work with simple or complex machines.

Watch the following honda commer
cial

This ad is famous because it took 86 attempts before everything went perfect. It was all shot in one take. There is no special effect of any kind. Think of all the simple machines being used to create this ad.

At one point, tires are rolling up a ramp! Can you think of ways to make that happen? Watch the video closely to answer the following questions.

List 5 simple machines that are being used and where

Simple MachineWhere in the ad/what's happening

1_________________________________________________

2_________________________________________________

3_________________________________________________

4_________________________________________________

5_________________________________________________

Still having fun? Try the following activities. You can print them out or complete them in some other way that you prefer.

After clicking on the link, use your mouse right-click button and the "back" selection to return to this page.

The science gizmo is a tool that allows you to practice working with the different elements of work, calculating input effort, output effort, mechanical advantage and speed ratio. This site requires a login from your teacher. When you have completed the activities to this point, contact your teacher for the science gizmo activity.

There are 3 self-check quiz/puzzles that are also password protected and need to be released by your teacher. When these are completed, congratulations, you have completed all the elements of this interactive activity.